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Continue readingThinking of converting your civil partnership to a marriage and worried about how it will affect your will? Don’t worry, you are in the right place.
Why should you make a will?
It is sensible for a couple to ensure that they have valid wills once they start to cohabit and share their assets.
However, it is regrettably not well known that marriage revokes an existing will (unless the will was specifically made in contemplation of the marriage), so if a couple decide to get married, their existing wills will lapse and they should write new ones. The same has been true for couples entering into a civil partnership since the Civil Partnership Act 2004 came into effect.
What does civil partnership mean?
A civil partnership is a legally binding union available for both same-sex couples and opposite-sex couples. It is a civil union, meaning that couples who do not identify with religious groups can enter into it and get the same legal rights as married couples. Prior to 2013, this was the only route towards these rights for same-sex couples in the UK. However, with same-sex marriage now legal couples have the option of which route they would like to choose.
Converting a civil partnership into marriage – what it means for your will
As of 10 December 2014, civil partnerships have been able to be converted into marriages under the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013. The marriage will be treated as commencing on the day the civil partnership commenced.
However, the Act did not state whether the conversion of a civil partnership into a marriage would revoke an earlier will.
To remedy this situation, legislation is currently before Parliament that will provide that the conversion of a civil partnership into a marriage will not invalidate an earlier will made by a civil partner.
If you would like to discuss making a will with a probate lawyer from our team of West London solicitors, you can get started right away. Alternately if you would like advice and guidance about your civil partnership or marriage, you can get in touch with a family solicitor. Fill in the contact form on this page, or email us at info@hpwsolicitors.co.uk today.
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